Supreme Court to hear Thackeray's plea against ECI order tomorrow
The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear Uddhav Thackeray's petition against the Election Commission of India (ECI) order recognizing Eknath Shinde's faction as the real Shiv Sena. Appearing for Thackeray, senior advocate Kapil Sibal requested that the matter be listed for an urgent hearing. He batted for urgent protective orders, citing that the Shinde camp was taking over the party offices and bank accounts.
Why does this story matter?
- After eight months of factionalism and tussling between the Thackeray and Shinde camps, each claiming to be the "real" Shiv Sena, the ECI allotted the party's name and symbol to the faction led by Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde last week.
- The factions emerged after Shinde, once Thackeray's loyal commander, joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to unseat the Thackeray government in June.
Constitution Bench hearing other matters related to Shiv Sena
Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud declined Sibal's request to hear the petition on Tuesday, saying that he wanted to read the files before the hearing. He agreed to list the matter at 3:30 pm on Wednesday after the Constitution Bench hearing, which is also presiding over other ongoing cases linked to the Shiv Sena rift.
ECI order based on number of supporters
Thackeray's petition alleged that the ECI failed to discharge its duties as a neutral arbiter of disputes, and its actions undermined the poll body's constitutional status. The ECI earlier decided the matter in Shinde's favor, noting that he enjoyed the support of MLAs with 76% of the winning votes in the 2019 Assembly elections—40 of 55 MLAs—and 13 of 18 Lok Sabha MPs.
ECI allotted new names, symbols to both factions last year
Meanwhile, Thackeray camp leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday accused the ruling BJP of "buying" the Sena's name and symbol from the ECI for Rs. 2,000 crore. To recall, both factions were allotted new names and symbols before Mumbai's East Andheri by-election in October. The ECI froze the party's bow and arrow symbol despite the Shinde camp backing the BJP and not contesting the by-poll.
